Thermally Fused Laminate Vs Melamine

The low quality melamine will not last as long as most laminate surfacing.

Thermally fused laminate vs melamine.

Each is produced differently. It s what you get when thin paper is applied at 300 500 psi on a substrate board. In general melamine is cost effective due to its manufacturing process. Tfl is a melamine saturated paper that is thermally fused directly to the substrate.

Thermally fused laminate tfl is created by soaking decor paper with resin and allowing it to partially dry. With the absence of the multiple layers of kraft paper that is found in hpl you will loose some of the impact resistance but also you will have a lower cost. In a news release the cpa explained the reason for the name change stating it is the collective view that the term thermally fused laminate tfl is more descriptive than melamine and. However the thicker textured thermal fused melamine has the same kind of life expectancy of high pressure laminate.

Textured melamine opens up a lot of great options for your cabinets by giving a three dimensional texture to your doors. Thermally fused laminate decorative panels once known as thermally fused melamine or tfm is made by fusing a resin impregnated sheet of décor paper directly to a substrate. Technically speaking melamine is the glue used to saturate the layers of paper transformed into a solid plastic surface through thermal fusion. There is no kraft paper used in thermally fused laminates and the resulting panel is ready for finishing.

There are two types of laminate that we use pretty often for furniture. Thermally fused laminate tfl and high pressure laminate hpl. Melamine is produced with a pressure of just 300 500psi while to make a laminate a pressure of 1400psi is required. The thermal fused melamine surface would likely bubble up and visibly damage the desk.

Melamine is cheaper than laminate as it is manufactured by a method which is not cost intensive. Laminate is more durable than melamine and more resistant to heat and chemicals. The high pressure laminate would only show minimal damage to the desk because of its superior durability. There are pros and cons to each material and most often the best choice depends on the application.